To the Point

China will soon pass Japan as the world's second largest economy, but it's not easy to cope with such rapid expansion. How long can the growth continue? Can the US and China afford to be adversaries or will global problems force an uneasy partnership? Also, the deadliest month since the war began in Afghanistan in 2001, and healthcare reform, the public option and politics in the State of Nevada.

Pay cuts for corporate executives and new rules for banks are designed to protect against another recession.  Are the right people being punished? Is government intervention too little, too late? Also, tensions are high after a deadly day in Baghdad, and Walt Disney is compensating parents whose kids did not become geniuses from watching Baby Einstein.

The key to achieving the American dream is often said to be Positive Thinking, but Barbara Ehrenreich’s new book argues that “Positive Thinking has Undermined America.”  Was the current  financial collapse the result of self-delusion from the top to the bottom? Also, NATO supports a new strategy for Afghanistan, and the passenger jet that overshot its destination by more 100 miles.

With the last national election twelve months ago and the next one twelve months away, the political world is focused on state contests less than two weeks from now. What will races for Governor in New Jersey and Virginia mean for President Obama and Democrats in Congress? Will Maine change the momentum on same-sex marriage? Also, the 'Pay Czar' cuts executive pay, and Twitter and Facebook are what they are but, even in the age of the Internet, television still rules.

The White House says President Obama may decide about troops for Afghanistan even before the run-off election on November 7. But a lot depends on security, how the voting's conducted and the outcome. We look at the prospects.  Also, Iran strikes a nuclear deal, and  violence in Rio as Brazil tries to raise funds for the 2016 Olympics.

Pakistan's army is finally taking on the Taliban in South Waziristan. Will the much-delayed offensive help the US and NATO against the Taliban in Afghanistan? Is Pakistan more interested in its historic conflict with India? Also, President Karzai is forced into a run-off election in Afghanistan, and the Obama Administration and medical marijuana.

Big name economists, including Alan Greenspan, are saying it's time to break up financial institutions that are "too big to fail." Is it too late even to regulate the banks and brokerages that caused the financial meltdown?  Does a new agency for consumer finance protection have a chance? Also, a UN-backed commission says that Afghan President Hamid Karzai failed to win re-election, and both carrots and sticks to persuade Sudan to end Darfur's humanitarian crisis.

In deciding what to do in Afghanistan, President Obama faces more than the question of how many troops. It's the clout of the military in a society where the civilian government is supposed to be in charge. After all, it took a former general, President Dwight Eisenhower, to coin the term "military-industrial complex." Also, a run-off election for Afghanistan, and the boy who wasn't in the balloon after all.

President Obama touched down in New Orleans today, and the Big Easy seemed to be saying, "It's about time." We hear about reconstruction, flood protection, race and political partisanship. Also violence creates chaos in the the cultural hub of Pakistan, and women's rights in Saudi Arabia.

Hillary Clinton's in Moscow to talk about Iran's nuclear program and renewing the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, not to mention Afghanistan. We hear about diplomacy and nuclear weapons.  Also, after taxpayer bailouts, Wall Street bonuses jump, and despite wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, military recruiting is setting historic records.